About George

Writing about oneself is a rather difficult thing to do. I always find myself wondering what to say. Hmm… well… my favourite film is E.T.: The Extra-Terrestrial; I think that Doctor Who is, without doubt, the greatest television series ever made; and Pet Shop Boys are the most talented pop duo ever to walk the face of this earth.

Perhaps it would be better to have an official bio? Oh, wait — I do. Here it is…

George Ivanoff — Bio

George Ivanoff is an author and stay-at-home dad residing in Melbourne, Australia.

He has written over 100 books for children and teenagers, including fiction and non-fiction. He has written school readers, library reference books, chapter books, novelettes, novels and even a short story collection. He has books on both the Victorian Premier’s and the NSW Premier’s Reading Challenge booklists.

His teen science fiction novel, Gamers’ Quest, won a Chronos Award for speculative fiction. The sequel, Gamers’ Challenge, was shortlisted for the same award. And the final book in the Gamers trilogy, Gamers’ Rebellion, also won a Chronos Award.

George’s current series of books is the interactive You Choose series. Twelve titles so far with more on the way. You Choose: The Treasure of Dead Man’s Cove won the 2015 YABBA in the “Fiction for Younger Readers” category; and You Choose: Alien Invasion From Beyond the Stars got an Honour Award in the KOALAs in 2016.

George has also written a series of adventure books for kids — RFDS Adventures. The four books in this series were published in 2016.

George also writes short stories and articles for adults as well as kids. Of all these, he is most proud to have had the opportunity to write a Doctor Who story for the Short Trips: Defining Patterns anthology (Big Finish, UK, 2008).

Occasionally, George has been known to moonlight as an actor. He has had small roles in numerous productions including the television series Neighbours and the feature films Frozen Butterfliesand William Kelly’s War. He recently guest starred in an episode of the audio series Night Terrace.

George eats too much chocolate, drinks too much coffee and watches too much Doctor Who. He will sometimes indulge in a nice bottle of wine or a single malt Scotch.

He has one wife, two children, two cats and four chickens. And he is very content!

2010Gamers’ Quest (Ford Street Publishing, 2009)— winner, Chronos Award (Best Short Fiction) [The dividing line between short and long fiction in the Chronos Awards is 40,000 words, and Gamers' Quest is under that limit.]

Hi Mary,
Yep! Back in the 80s/90s, I was quite heavily involved in Melbourne fandom. I did a lot of writing for Austrek and several other sci-fi related clubs and conventions. It was great fun and a wonderful training ground for my future career as a writer.
George

Hi Josh. I started writing books simply because I like making stuff up. And I was inspired to write the YOU CHOOSE books by the old CHOOSE YOUR OWN ADVENTURE novels. I was a huge fan of these book when I was a teen.

It’s unlikely there will be a YOU CHOOSE book about University. John Marsden wrote an interactive book about high school back in the 1990s called COOL SCHOOL. You should check that out. Yes, I make regular donations to particular charities that are important to me.

Yep, it’s actually me. That’s why it sometimes takes a while for me to approve comments (it’s a moderated blog, so they don’t show up until I’ve approved them) and to reply to them. I keep getting distracted by writing books.

Hullo George. I am the convenor of the Farina Restoration Group ,who have been working on the”abandoned town”of Farina since 2008
Your detail of the old town is absolute. Except for the odd snake that ends up in the Trancontinenal cellar.
We run a work and tourist program now for 8 weeks annually commencing this year May 29th. We have the bakery “cooking” which sends the tourists “wild” We also sell Farina merchandise. Your book needs to be on display !! I have also been an active supporter of RFDS for many years. .Need to talk to you about it . WE can hitch it to our web site. Also on our newsletter with an 800″interested” person listing.

Hey George, Just wondering if you have any plans to visit Adelaide? I am always looking for new authors to visit my school and by the comments the children have just loved your visits to their schools. Cheers Debbie

Hi George, you are coming to a literature festival at my school soon, and I am really looking forward to it. I recently entered a writing competition and I need some tips. How do you write a gripping book? Do you wait for inspiration?
Lillian

Hi Lillian,
I have so many ideas spinning around in my cluttered mind… way more ideas than I have the time to write. And new ideas are popping into my head all the time. Inspiration is everywhere. So it’s just a matter of deciding which idea is the best one to work on. That’s the hard part.
Very pleased to hear that you’re entering a writing comp. Looking forward to coming to your school.
George

Hello George, you recently came to my school, and I wanted to say that I really enjoyed it. Hearing about all the exciting events that have happened in your life, and learning how you write was remarkable. I look forward to picking up the ‘You Choose’ series very soon!

No plans to come to Perth, at the moment. Sydney and Rockhampton are the only interstate promotional trips that are currently on the cards. But you never know what the future may hold. Just keep an eye on my Upcoming Events page: http://georgeivanoff.com.au/upcoming-events/
Cheers, George

Hi George,
I follow you on fb and love your work. I’m writing an article on Australian Children’s authors and had to add you. Like many great Aussie Authors you write for a diverse age groups. I hope to do justice to your talents in a brief way. Would you call your work in Gamers Quest, Games Challenge 12 to 14 age up or younger? I guess I read more YA’s than other books.
Keep up the good work.
I look forward to your thoughts.
Jill Smith

Hi Jill,
I am flattered by your comments and the fact that you’ve included me in your article. When writing the Gamers trilogy, I aimed it at myself as a 13/14 year old. But it was marketed as 11+ and seems to have found an audience with Year 5/6 kids. So yes, a 12-14 age range is appropriate.
If your article gets published online, make sure to put a link to it here.
Cheers, George

Hi Caitlyn. Good to hear that you’re reading and writing. Gamers’ Challenge is both my latest and favourite novel. There will be at least one more Gamers book. But I’ve got other books planned as well… and I intend to just keep on writing until I eventually drop dead. George

hi George its caitlyn from drysdale primary school would like to thank you for coming to our school and telling us about u being a author. every since you told us about ur life writing books now i would really want to be a author i love reading your books and thanks again for coming to our school

Hi Caitlyn. Glad you enjoyed the talk and so pleased you like the books. As I said in the talk, if you want to be a writer, you’ve gotta write, write, write… read, read, read… and then write some more. The more you write, the better you’ll get. All the best, George

Dear George,
Thank you so much for coming to Portarlington Primary School. So far I am enjoying ” Trust Me “. Thank you again for coming to Portarlington Primary School.
From Caitlin
P.S Please reply back soon:)

Hi Caine,
I had a great time at Portarlington PS. So glad you enjoyed my visit. And I’m really pleased that you’re enjoying “Gamers’ Quest”. After you’ve finished reading the book, take a look at the Gamers website… there are some short stories with characters from the book: http://www.gamersquestbook.com/
George

Hi George,
It is Caitlin Robertson from Portarlington Primary School. Just wanted to say thankyou for visiting our school. I have read some of “Trust Me “. So far your story is good. Thanks again for coming to our school.
From Caitlin Robertson.
P.S reply back soon

Well… I’ve written over 50 books, including school readers, reference books, chapter books, novels and a short story collection. I’m always working on something new — usually more than one thing. I love reading and I write a regular bookish blog hosted by Boomerang Books online bookstore (http://content.boomerangbooks.com.au/literary-clutter-blog/). I love watching and reviewing DVDs (see my DVD blog, Viewing Clutter – http://georgeivanoff.com.au/other-writing/reviews/viewing-clutter/). I’m a huge Doctor Who fan. My big fanboy moment was getting to write a Doctor Who short story for the anthology Doctor Who Short Trips: Defining Patterns (Big Finish, UK, 2008).

My very first book was Life, Death and Detention, a YA short story collection published in 1999. At the moment I’m working on some new school readers for prep and grade 1 level, as well as some new short stories.

I’m currently reading Equinox (Book 2 in the Rosie Black Chronicles) by Lara Morgan. Next in line is Goliath by Scott Westerfeld.

Yep, I’ll be there along with a horde of other authors as part of the Ford Street Literary Festival in Nov. Make sure you come up and say ‘hi’. BTW… had a look at your blog. “Be The Change” is great! Well done!
George

Hi Natasha and Tegan. I had a really small role as a delivery man on Neighbours back in the 1996. Also had small parts on Tonight Live and Get a Life. I had a slightly larger role in the mini-series The Legend of Billy Sing… but that show ran into problems and was never finished. I haven’t been on anything recently… too busy writing and being a stay-at-home dad.